Green Eyes
by Caitiy
Summary: Inaction can only work for so long as a course of action.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the characters contained therein, they belong to Masashi Kishimoto who is kind enough to let fans write fiction. I make no profit from this nor do I intend to.

A/N: This is not in my usual style – wrote most of it a couple years ago and then promptly forgot about it. Back in December Alifestylechoice was in need of some extra holiday cheer and I decided that I could finish this to give her a smile. After doing that it seemed silly not to get it beta'd and posted. . Anyway, this is for Alifestylechoice! As always many thanks to Clearheart for giving this a first look and MysticalSpirits for her betaing skills! Without you guys I'd never post anything! Happy Reading!

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Green Eyes

Kakashi watched out of the corner of his eye as Genma slowly slipped a hand under the table. The Copy Ninja had no doubt just where that hand was going and wondered if the lecherous man would ever learn his lesson. Sakura was, after all, less than forgiving when someone laid an unwanted appendage on her. And, as far as he knew, Genma's advances were certainly not something his former student welcomed.

He silently waited for the result, ready to enjoy the fallout which was usually fairly spectacular, especially where Genma was concerned. After a few minutes, Kakashi blinked and hastily flipped a page in his newest volume of Icha Icha to keep up the appearance that he was reading the dirty little book.

With dawning horror, he slowly realized that the reprimand _wasn't_ going to come. Somewhere under the surprise, he found the fact that Sakura _hadn't_ ripped Genma a new one for his overly-familiar hand to be much more disconcerting than he would ever want to admit to himself, let alone anyone else. She had _always_ discouraged the senbon-wielding shinobi before. Why would that change now?

Fascinated, more so than he felt he should be, he watched. Slowly, over the course of the next twenty minutes, and from the slight movements of the letch's shoulder, he guessed that Genma's hand was inching its way up the usually volatile kunoichi's thigh. The fact that Genma was behaving as he was didn't surprise Kakashi, but the fact that Sakura had yet to put action to her temper did. Usually the pink haired medic would be quick to correct Genma, or anyone else for that matter, when they got a little too friendly with her person. But for some strange reason, she seemed content to leave the notorious letch to his own rather questionable devices.

Kakashi frowned and realized that he hadn't turned the page for quite some time now, and he quickly flipped to the next page without even skimming its contents. His eye refused to take in the all-too tempting words on the page – instead, it kept flicking back to his former student and his lecherous drinking companion's wayward appendage. Genma's hand kept up its slow but steady pace as it inched along under the cover of the table.

Finally Sakura shifted a little in her seat. To the casual observer, she was just making herself more comfortable, but to anyone who had been watching, she executed a slight, but firm rebuke to the offending hand. Genma didn't bat an eye; instead his hand retreated an inch or so before remaining put, and then his fingers most likely started to move in either small circles or shortened strokes along the outside of her leg and gradually the fingers would probably (unless Sakura intervened) slip over the top of her thigh to the inside.

Kakashi's fingers tightened, of their own accord, on both his drink and his little orange companion. Irritated with himself, he hastily put the subconscious reaction down to the fact that he had a brand new book and was unable to read it for fear that…what? Genma would somehow take advantage of an unwilling Sakura? The idea was laughable. Sakura was a fully capable and competent kunoichi. If she didn't appreciate Genma's advances, she would quite easily tell him so. And yet…

The Copy Ninja shook his head slightly to try and clear the unwanted thoughts from his mind. There was absolutely no reason for him to be upset by Genma's seemingly innocuous advances upon Sakura. She was an adult now – something he had realized with a bit of a shock several months previous when she had taken an undercover assignment with him, playing the part of his trophy wife. The way she had filled out the scraps of material masquerading as clothing had given him more than a few moments pause. Luckily, they had been able to complete that particular mission quickly and without any…incidents. The way the other men had looked at her while she was playing her part had strained even _his_ near-legendary self-control.

When they had returned to the village, he had had a hard time coming to grips with the fact that Sakura was now a grown woman, and a very attractive one at that. Suddenly he noticed all the little things she did for and around him. The way she would smile at him as she brought him lunch when he was out in the woods or some other remote training location, too caught up in his need to improve to even think about food. The not-too-serious-but-still-concerned way she would scold him upon returning from a mission with neglected injuries. The fact that, recently, she always walked a little too closely to him when they were together. She was also never far when he wanted to find someone to spar with, or someone to keep him company while he indulged in his favorite orange hobby.

Along with all the little things she did, he found himself helpless to resist the growing feelings of affection and… _more_ for his pink-haired former student. And lately, feelings of resentment or even jealousy started to plague him whenever she didn't immediately dismiss a man's interest or attention – Genma being a prime example. For weeks now she had been deftly fending him off, never giving an inch. But, now...now she didn't seem as disinclined to date him as she had been before. His fingers curled again into partial fists before he realized what he was doing.

Abruptly, he snapped his new novel shut and pocketed it in one smooth motion, unable to watch the local letch successfully flirt with his former student. With the grace of an elite, he rose, extracted himself from the corner booth, dropped his share of the bill on the table, and exited the pub in a matter of moments, leaving his drinking companions to stare after him in shocked askance.

Dejected and feeling angry with himself for his uncharacteristic exit, Kakashi slowly made his way back to his apartment. The Copy Ninja had been working hard to ignore Sakura and his feelings for her, and he had been all but out-right failing. But so long as she remained single, he could just ignore the situation in hopes that it would go away. However, the pink-haired woman's actions that evening, or rather, lack thereof, changed things.

She no longer seemed content with the status quo, and since he wasn't responding to her attentions, she had moved on to someone who would. The generally stoic man hadn't quite intended on making such a dramatic exit, but somehow he hadn't been able to help himself. Kakashi knew he was in trouble, and now most of his friends did as well. And the ones who didn't would know soon enough.

Sighing to himself, he silently made up his mind to head to Hokage Tower in the morning and try to scrounge up some sort of long-term mission. He absently mused that they were almost always looking for ninja to run border patrols. If he timed it right, he might even manage to stay away from the village for an entire year or more...

His self-recriminating thoughts were interrupted as he sensed a familiar chakra signature. Options flashed through his mind, though apparently not quickly enough, as his former female student landed lightly in front of him, blocking the road.

"What was _that_ all about, Kakashi?" she asked with genuine concern.

Playing innocent, he widened his eye a bit. "All what about?" he asked.

Sakura tilted her head to one side, studying the man in front of her for signs of anything other than the truth. Finding none, she decided to try another tack. "You feeling okay?"

"Of course, why do you ask?" He smiled a little, trying to behave as though he hadn't just stormed out of the pub in an unwarranted fit of jealousy.

The pink-haired woman frowned a little. "You left the pub in quite a rush."

"Oh, eh-heh, that." He raised a hand to scratch the back of his head as he tried to think of a good excuse. "I suddenly remembered that I might have left my oven on."

She crossed her arms across her chest and raised a doubtful eyebrow. "Your oven?"

"Yes, my oven. And if I left it on, the whole building could be filling with deadly gas right now as we speak." He nodded seriously, sensing that he might pull it off if he spoke fast enough. "One little spark could set the whole thing alight – as you know I live in a civilian building, they wouldn't stand a chance."

Her eyes widened in mock surprise and she moved out of his way. "Oh, well then! By all means you should hurry home to check on your oven."

Not quite believing his luck, but not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, Kakashi took a few steps to move around his former student, but he stopped when she opened her mouth to speak again.

"Funny though," Sakura drawled nonchalantly. "Last time I checked, your oven was electric."

Torn between making a run for it and facing the music, he froze. Indecision kept him in place for just a fraction of a moment too long, and she once again moved to block his path. Silently he cursed his inability to make up his mind.

The pink-haired woman smiled smugly upon confirming the real reason for her former sensei's hasty exit from the pub. She'd suspected, but hadn't been able to confirm it. That is, until she'd decided to see what would happen if she allowed Genma some small success in his flirtations while the Copy Ninja was in the vicinity.

With his natural eye wide, Kakashi found that he was frozen like a deer in headlights, waiting for her to make the next move – he'd been caught and he knew it.

Sakura chuckled to herself. "And here I thought that I was the one with green eyes," she teased, turning to traipse back to the pub.

They both knew the next move was his, and they both also knew that he would make it.


End file.
